Johannesburg - Warnings that late walk-in applications won’t be accepted have fallen on deaf ears as desperate prospective students scramble for limited space in the country’s universities.
Most institutions have set up websites and call centres to deal with late applications, but this hasn’t stopped prospective students from trying their luck and walking into campuses, only to be shown the door.
There’s some hope though as some universities are still open to accommodating late applicants, provided there’s space in the course that prospective students want to enrol in and their matric results are up to standard.
The University of Johannesburg (UJ), which received 111 200 first-year applications for the 10 500 available spots, said once the process of registering first-years ends on January 26, the university’s system would automatically match the spaces that were still available to qualifying students on the late application list, and they would be notified accordingly.
Meanwhile, prospective students can go to www.uj.ac.za to verify their application status, or call the university’s on 011 559 4555.
The Vaal University of Technology (VUT) has made provisions for students whose applications may have been delayed due to the postal strike.
“A total of 2 230 admission offers for first-year students have already been done. We still need to consider 10 456 eligible applicants to fill available places in the undergraduate programmes,” the university said on Monday.
“VUT will not be accepting late applications, although we had numerous problems due to the Post Office strike. We are still receiving applications that were sent last year and have made provision to assist students with valid evidence of having sent the forms to VUT,” the university said.
Prospective students who want to apply to the Tshwane University of Technology still have a lifeline.
The university’s online late application enquiry system was launched on Monday. It allows prospective students to make one enquiry about the space in a course they are interested in.
If there is still space and if they meet the minimum requirements, they’ll be invited to apply via SMS. For more details, see www.tut.ac.za or call 086 110 2421.
Wits University, which received 51 000 applications for about 6 255 first-year places, said it would not accept late applications. The only late applications it would consider were those that were delayed due to the Post Office strike.
These applications, however, needed to have been posted before the university’s application closing date, which was September 30 last year.
Prospective students who have not applied at any higher education institution can also use the Department of Higher Education and Training’s Central Applications Clearing House service, so their information can be matched to institutions that still have space.
For more information on this service, see www.dhet. gov.za or call 0800 356 635.
The Central Applications Clearing House service will run until the end of next month.